Our little soccer pro

Cooling off between games

What a difference a year makes! Last year, my sweet Lincoln wanted to be just about anywhere BUT at his soccer practices and games. It was truly painful. 

I finally came up with the idea to bribe Linc with M&Ms each time he kicked the ball. As in a single M&M for a single kick. His foot didn't necessarily have to connect with the ball, he just had to try. 

So there he was, haphazardly kicking out his little foot, then running to me on the sideline for ONE tiny candy. Back and forth. One kick (or kick attempt) for one M&M. Over and over and over. I bought a bag of fun size packages, and we wouldn't even go through a single package each time. It was that bad. Not anymore. 

I am thrilled to say that we have started a new season without the M&Ms!! Lincoln had his first game on Saturday, and he was AMAZING!! He had his head down and his eyes focused on the ball THE WHOLE TIME. He was breathing so heavily from exertion that he was almost growling as he made his way down the field. And down the field he went!

After he scored 8 goals, I stopped counting. At half time, the coach told his teammates, "Just watch Lincoln--everybody follow Lincoln." When his own teammate started attacking him  trying to get to the ball (click on the pic below for a better view--that kid was ruthless), we pulled him out. And even then, Gavin really had to talk him into taking a break. Seriously. 

I'm still in shock at how different he is from last year. He's our little soccer prodigy. (And his sister isn't 1/2 bad either--but we've always known she was good.)